Missing BP Laptop Had Personal Data of Claimants

New Orleans, LA (AP) - BP says one of its employees lost a laptopcontaining personal data belonging to thousands of residents whofiled claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill.

The oil giant disclosed the potential data security breach to The Associated Press on Tuesday, but BP spokesman Curtis Thomassays the company doesn't have any evidence that claimants' personalinformation has been misused.

Thomas said the company mailed out letters Monday to roughly13,000 people, notifying them that their data was in the computer.

The data belonged to individuals who filed claims with BP beforethe Gulf Coast Claims Facility took over the processing of claimsin August. BP paid roughly $400 million in claims before the switch.

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